Two men rescued after boat takes on water

Two Alabama men went overboard in Lake Erie Tuesday morning when their boat started sinking during a fishing trip near Toussaint Reef.

U.S. Coast Guard crews located and assisted Walton Sanford and Greg Mohney near Toussaint Reef after they had been in the water for more than an hour.

Locals from Boat U.S. in Port Clinton located the men following a Coast Guard radio announcement. They took Sanford and Mohney on their boat and towed their boat, then turned them over to Coast Guard crews who took them to shore.

Other than gas burns experienced by Mohney, the pair is healthy following the troubling incident, according to Sanford.

Coast Guard personnel declined to comment at the scene, though Sanford, 78, seemed to be in good spirits and had plenty to say.

"It was an experience," he said. "I've never had anything like this happen."

The duo set off from Beef Creek Marina in Carroll Township, a few miles east of Davis-Besse, around 7 a.m. Tuesday.

After a few hours of some lethargic fishing, Sanford said, their trip livened up quickly.

"We just stayed out there too long," he said.

They noticed water seeping in the 20-foot bass boat through a vent pipe and they knew they were in trouble, Sanford said.

Shortly thereafter, the boat's motor stopped.

"We knew we were in trouble when the motor died," Sanford said.

The boat began to slowly sink, and water began to increasingly flow throughout the watercraft.